Parks Canada Update - Sunday, 8:37 p.m.

The Kenow wildfire is advancing southeast along the Akamina Valley and Parks Canada officials say it will likely reach Waterton Lakes National Park on Sunday night.

Parks Canada provided an update just after 8:30 p.m. Sunday and said support staff is being evacuated from the park and a mobilized command centre is being put on standby.

Wildland and structural fire crews will remain in the park and townsite and officials say the fire will continue to advance through the night.

They say the wildfire is exhibiting intense fire behaviour and that there is a high probability it will enter the park through the Cameron Valley.

Officials say crews are ready if the fire 'rounds the corner' at Akamina Pass and comes into the park near Cameron Lake.

Parks Canada says it will provide an update on Monday.

Story from Earlier today ...

The Kenow wildfire now covers about 9400 hectares and officials say it moved five kilometres along the Akamina Valley overnight. 

Three spot fires have sparked up in the Tamarack Basin and helicopters are dropping buckets of water on the area and also bucketed the South Kootenay Pass on Sunday morning.

“The fire grew about five kilometres down the Akamina Valley, southeast down the valley towards Akamina Pass. That five kilometres in growth was from yesterday morning to this morning, today. We’ve seen a few small, spot fires in the Tamarak Basin, just inside Waterton Lakes National Park. We have helicopters bucketing those small, spot fires,” said John Stoesser, Partnering, Engagement and Communications Officer, Waterton Lakes Field Unit.

The wildfire could reach the Akimina Pass on Sunday and Parks Canada has positioned fire crews in the townsite to protect infrastructure and facilities.

“We do expect that this fire will continue moving down the Akamina Valley. It could reach Akamina Pass today so if possible we would try an aerial ignition to the south of the fire and this process could draw the fire away from the boundary of Waterton Lakes National Park or at least change the trajectory of the fire so that embers aren’t coming over the boundary and starting spot fires in Waterton National Park. That’s just one of the many tools we have to slow or stop this fire,” said Stoesser. “In the townsite, preparations are well underway, we’re fully resourced in the townsite. We’ve gone to every building in town and made sure it’s as protected as it can be. Identified roofs that are maybe more flammable than others. We’ve got pumps, sprinklers, six municipal fire crews helping us out there.”

The Prince of Wales Hotel is a National Historic Site and Calgary fire crews are among those who have been assigned to keep watch over it in the coming days.

“Morale is really good. We are seeing just some really inspiring preparations taking place in the park. We’ve got a wide range of people here helping us out, crews from all across Alberta, municipalities from across southern Alberta and also crews from all across Canada and it’s just really inspiring to see how well these people can work together and come together so quickly to protect a place that’s much loved,” said Stoesser.

Officials say weather conditions are causing intense fire behaviour and heavy smoke is impacting visibility and fire suppression efforts.

“We are seeing strong winds and expecting that to continue tomorrow as well. Winds do influence fire behaviour and the intensity of the fire and the direction that it can travel so due to the direction right now we’re seeing the fire travel down that valley, the Akamina Valley. It also does hamper our efforts in terms of having helicopters flying, it has to be safe for the helicopters to fly so if it gets too windy we will shut them down but we get them up in the air again as soon as we can. It also moves smoke around, which can affect our visibility on the fire,” said Stoesser. “This fire will continue to burn unless we see a significant change in weather and a significant amount of precipitation.”

Motorists in the area are being advised to use caution, especially if travelling at night.

“The smoke is coming out over top of Waterton Lakes National Park and into areas north of Waterton Lakes National Park. With the weather conditions and the temperatures at night this means the smoke will settle into the areas just north of the park. It could settle into the roads so we’re asking everyone to driver carefully in the area and just be aware of the effects that smoke can have on your health.”

The park remains closed to visitors and a fire ban continues for the area and many other jurisdictions in the province because of the dry conditions.

For the latest on fire alerts and area closures, click HERE.

Kenow Fire Growth - September 9 - 10